The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 112

112

Perhaps it was the aroma of the food I was making, or maybe just the warmth of the tent.

“Ugh…”

Kasena Page mumbled in her sleep before abruptly sitting up, staring blankly at her hands.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Huh? Oh! I think I had a really weird dream…”

“Kasena, Kasena, Kasena.”

After PiPi rubbed her head against Kasena’s cheek, Kasena finally sighed in relief. However, her face paled as she took in the figures around her.

“S-S-S-Subhumans…?!”

That seemed like a normal reaction, but before I could quickly warn her against being rude, Kasena’s eyes sparkled.

“Are they real, really real Subhumans?!”

Eh? Rain wasn’t the only one surprised by her innocent reaction; Beduel and Barzhen were even more taken aback.

Wait, could you even call this innocent? Shouldn’t a truly innocent reaction involve trembling with fear?

The shock didn’t end there. Barzhen, who had been glaring at Kasena with his arms crossed as he crawled over, had his wolf ears touched, and she smiled brightly.

“This, this hairless brat! Does she have a death wish?!”

Startled, Barzhen quickly stood up, shaking off Kasena’s touch and growling, but Kasena’s eyes continued to sparkle.

“What… Miss, aren’t you scared? He’s a Subhuman, you know?”

“Not scared! Why would I be scared of a Subhuman?”

“???”

Upon hearing the explanation, it turned out that Kasena had never been taught that Subhumans were cursed creatures. I was impressed by Madelia Page’s foresight.

Moreover, since she had been almost completely isolated from peers, tutors, and other people since the age of six, there was no room for strange rumors to creep in.

In fact, Kasena even harbored strange fantasies about Subhumans, something along the lines of this:

“It’s strange, but old adventure books often had stories about meeting Subhumans, but they’re not in the recent ones!”

“Adventure books…?”

“So, I was planning to go and meet Subhumans and write an adventure book myself when my legs got better! But now I’ve met them like this!”

A gap in adventure books, huh…

Something must have happened. I should definitely investigate if we go down below the barrier.

“By the way, I’m hungry! What’s that smell?”

“It’s ready just in time. Just a moment.”

That was the moment I presented my ‘Rhin Special Charcoal Grilled Soup’ to the world for the first time in a while. As I filled a plate and handed it to her, Kasena drooled.

“Mr. Barzhen, would you like some too?”

I offered Barzhen the ‘Rhin Special Wood-fired Skewers’ that I had made for myself. This could be considered a special move; they were so delicious.

“Me too, give me that too!”

“That’s not for you, Miss.”

Barzhen instinctively sniffed at the savory smell, but he turned his head away primly at Rain’s question.

“Hmph, meat is just meat. How can you become a warrior by just picking out the flesh like that?”

“Oh…”

“That’s why hairless ones are like this. A true warrior should be able to eat any kind of meat without a problem and get nutrients.”

“Still, just try it once. We’re not in a battle situation right now… or do you still not trust me?”

I really, really didn’t want to eat it, but when the little one looked up at me like that, it strangely pricked at a corner of my heart.

I looked at Beduel for help, but Beduel simply nodded, telling me to accept it, rather than helping me.

Damn it… Running away from an enemy is a warrior’s shame. In the end, Barzhen swallowed hard as he watched Kasena gulp down the chunks of meat in the soup.

“D-Delicious! Rain, this is so delicious!”

“Right?”

Seeing that the light purple-haired brat was eating so much and was fine, it seemed there was no poison. Then, maybe I should try it too…

‘Ugh, ugh, ugh───?!’

A shock like lightning striking in my mind, a dizziness from the intense signal that the taste buds on my tongue were sending out.

What is this smoky flavor?

And this savory taste?

Does meat juice taste like this?

I was just dealing with the waves of questions raging in my head when the heavy weight in my grasp suddenly disappeared.

“Gasp.”

I was startled and realized the truth. I had eaten all the meat on the skewer without even realizing it.

“Would you like another one?”

“Me! Give it to me first!”

And looking at the little brat grinning as she stared at the empty skewer, I felt like I had lost for some reason, and I was furious.

“How ridiculous. It was so tasteless that I just swallowed it all at once. Who would eat something like this? Only the undead would gobble it up.”

“Is that so? It was my masterpiece… I’m sorry.”

“No, you idiot! I’m just saying that. It’s not that bad… Yeah, it was delicious, you bastard! Don’t be so depressed just because a man said something like that!”

“Then, would you like another one?”

“…”

Barzhen glanced outside the tent, then shook his head very slightly, so no one would see. Rain and PiPi chuckled, and he immediately burst into anger.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Barzhen get along so well with anyone. Even with human children.”

Even Alakish, who always had a dignified expression, raised his eyebrows at this strange situation—or rather, what should have been a normal situation.

「They are truly strange children.」

“Indeed,” Beduel replied in a surprised voice, then smiled gently.

“So, it’s not bad.”

* * *

After the short commotion, I explained the current situation to Kasena Page.

Everything that happened at the Papal Palace was true, we were transported here by the power of Karen Den (probably), and we were able to survive here with the help of this Alakish.

It was a slightly worrying part, but Kasena accepted the situation more calmly than I thought.

Rather, she approached Alakish in a friendly manner and asked him various questions, surprising everyone once again.

Later, I heard that she was jealous of how Joshua and I were talking so friendly at the Papal Palace. And she was disappointed that I didn’t introduce her.

“The important thing is from now on; listen carefully.”

“Y-Yes!”

“Currently, the Subhumans are suffering from serious misunderstandings, and those misunderstandings have led to conflicts that are about to escalate into a war with humans. Your help is absolutely essential here.”

Kasena nodded immediately, then tilted her head in confusion.

“But what misunderstandings? What kind of misunderstandings are they?”

Here, I had to gauge Beduel and Barzhen’s reactions, and soon Beduel nodded, indicating that it was okay to tell her.

So, I carefully told her the story I had heard from Beduel—the connection between Enuel and the Assault Team, and the loyalty that had been passed down to later generations.

I was worried if I had missed anything when Kasena suddenly burst into tears and nodded her head, shouting in a nasal voice.

“A-Alright…! I, Rain, and I…! Will help Barzhen…! Just, just trust me…!”

I knew she had a one-dimensional and simple personality, but I didn’t know it was to this extent…

But perhaps such a simple personality is effective when it comes to touching the hearts of warriors.

It was obvious that not only War Chief Barzhen but also the warriors who were standing guard outside the tent and eavesdropping on the conversation were deeply moved (they couldn’t hide their expressions).

“Wh-Who said to help? I don’t need it! A warrior’s shame to receive help from hairless brats!”

“No, no, we’ll help you…!”

“I don’t need it! Ugh, disgusting! Where are you wiping your snot right now?”

“No! I said I’d help!!!”

“Hey, get off! And why are you touching my ears since a while ago?”

His tone was still sharp, but the hostility that flowed from Barzhen’s eyes and tone when we first met was surprisingly gone.

I thought persuading Kasena would be the biggest challenge, but rather, I would be getting help. How unexpected.

The world is really full of unexpected situations, so it’s so beautiful… As I thought that, the boy pulled himself one step higher on the staircase leading to truth.

Socrafres.

– You can inherit the progress of ‘Unique Magic’ research from the surrounding environment.

– Progress 50% -> 53.8%.

Rain and PiPi looked at each other and smiled as they watched Kasena, who was clinging to Barzhen’s back and arguing, and a smile bloomed on Alakish’s lips as well.

‘Strange children with the scent of gods…’

Then, the smile turned to the dragon egg that he cherished and never let go of. The place where Alakish’s alter ego and daughter’s life resided.

‘My daughter, I hope you can give off that scent someday too.’

* * *

During the ten days that the Durankus tribe prepared to leave, I was able to become quite friendly with the tribe members.

This was because Barzhen, while being prickly, introduced each member and even had them greet me, and the tribe members gradually eased their wariness, finding it strange.

Of course, the power of ‘Rhin Special Wood-fired Skewers’ was also added to that, but I won’t explain it in detail because it would seem pathetic.

“What is this?”

“Ah, this is called ‘Delicious’.”

“The food’s name is ‘Delicious’?”

“The food’s name is ‘Rain Special Charcoal Grilled Skewers’, but I thought you might not know the word ‘delicious’…”

“?”

In fact, I can never say that I almost lost all credibility by acting like that and being mistaken for a madman.

Fortunately, I had a chance to regain credibility, which was the attack of the undead that occurred on the sixth day when a blizzard was raging.

“U-Undead!”

Harbadonia, influenced by the Mountains of Madness, could be said to coexist with the undead, so the warriors slept during the day and were active from the evening.

Thanks to growing up in such an environment, the fighting style of the Subhuman Warrior Corps led by Barzhen was quite inspiring.

“They’ve come in droves without fear!”

They just engage in melee combat with the undead. Just simply hitting and fighting.

A fighting style that uses their huge physique and sharp teeth and claws to tear the limbs of the undead, rendering them incapacitated…

Ordinary human soldiers are busy stabbing with swords and spears a few times before screaming at the undead’s tenacious vitality and running away, but the Subhuman warriors were truly experts in the fight against the Abyss.

I even chuckled as I watched Barzhen pierce the heart of an undead with his claws and then bite off the head of the one that rushed in from behind with his mouth.

“Now is not the time to be impressed!”

“That’s right. Miss, don’t use magic.”

“Why?”

“Right now, it’s a chaotic situation that is most difficult for battle mages, and you could end up harming allies.”

“What about you?”

Me? I’ve experienced this kind of situation to the point of being sick of it back in my Rhin days.

So, there’s no problem.

The fireball born from my palm rose high into the sky, then split into countless pieces and poured down on the undead like shooting stars. No problem with coordinate calculation.

Whirrrrr────!

The fire accurately targeted the legs, weakening the mobility of the undead, and the fire that fell on the ground rose as a barrier, restricting their passage.

“Not bad!”

To my delight, the Subhuman warriors whistled and gave me a thumbs up.

Then, Kasena hit the face of one of the undead with a stone using telekinesis and shrugged her shoulders as if to show off.

But when no one reacted, she squinted her eyes primly.

“What! Why don’t you give me a thumbs up?!”

Am I supposed to praise that?

As the Subhumans scratched their heads awkwardly, Kasena puffed up her reddened cheeks and began to throw things around with telekinesis.

“No, stop! Stop it! We were wrong! Here, a thumbs up!”

That commotion was short-lived, and when Alakish, who had gone out to survey the terrain, returned and breathed fire once, all the undead were wiped out.

He’s an absolute being, and at times like this, I feel the difference in class as the same life form… An overwhelming gap that I can’t even be jealous or frustrated about.

Still, whether that struggle was in vain or not, trust soared after that day. And one annoying thing increased.

“Teach me fire magic too!”

“Yes?”

“Teach me fire magic so I can fight like Rain!”

“You said you didn’t want to even if I taught you before.”

“Teach me if I ask you to teach me!”

It was quite annoying, but it seemed wise to make Kasena a part of the force in an emergency situation.

Then, should I go into intensive fire magic training?

「Hmm?」

But then, something happened that made me so envious that I gritted my teeth.

Alakish, who was watching my training with interest, saw Kasena’s bloodline limit and taught her a few dragon words by unraveling them into rune structures.

Even Kasena quickly began to write them. As she drew runes in the air with her fingertips, intense flames were created, spewing out tremendous heat in all directions.

“Did you see? Did you see?!”

Kasena smiled brightly and looked back at me.

I was so surprised that I couldn’t answer right away. She’s using at most one or two runes, but the power is comparable to a 3-star…

I tried to imitate it roughly, but I gave up because the runes that deciphered the dragon words were similar to the incantation-type Altima used by witches.

There was never a day when I envied the Page’s bloodline as much as today. Damn it, I want to learn from a True Dragon too. Where else would I get this opportunity?

“It seems more powerful than what Rain used last time?!”

“I guess so…”

I replied listlessly, and Alakish gently placed his hand on my head (Alakish sometimes did things that were not like a Red Dragon) and shook his head, thinking I was sulking.

「It’s just that she has a strange talent for handling dragon words; it has nothing to do with the Emit’s bloodline. Ah, maybe it’s thanks to that bloodline.」

Hey, were you trying to comfort me?

Still, I felt somewhat comforted when I checked the progress of my unique magic in my diary, which I had unfolded without much thought.

“Wow, 53.8%!”

In that way, one day, then another day passed, and before I knew it, it was the dawn of the tenth day.

The movement of the Subhumans was done by separating the tents that made up the village as a whole, so on the tenth day, the place where the village had been was just empty.

Chief Beduel sprinkled the blood of a walrus he had caught in the morning on the site of the village and offered a short prayer.

“El Duira Tur Quiusbeira (May the sun light our way).”

“””Dursiel (May it be so).”””

The expressions of the Subhumans leaving their homeland, which had been the tribe’s home for a thousand years, could not be said to be bright. Even Barzhen occasionally looked back.

I still remember the day I left the Osarius School of Magic Tower and the sense of loss I felt at that time, so I could deeply understand the feelings they were feeling.

“You’ll be able to come back, Barzhen.”

“Come back? When? How? It’ll all be eaten by the Abyss now.”

“On the day the Abyss ends someday.”

Barzhen laughed in disbelief, then gently tapped the back of my head as if to tell me not to worry (I was so surprised because it was so unexpected) and directed the warriors to form an arrowhead protection formation.

At that time, I stopped for a moment and looked back at the north, at the mountains that stretched endlessly to both sides, piercing the sky irreverently at the end of the world.

‘Mountains of Madness…’

Why is that?

The sound of the wind swirling out of those wondrous, forbidden snow mountains sometimes sounded eerie.

Like the sound of a flute played disquietingly in ancient times… Every time, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. But I’m not afraid.

– You cannot stop the encroachment of the Abyss. You were merely chosen to convey it.

We’ll see about that.

I’m a great mage, you know.

I clenched my fist resolutely towards the mountains, then ran to Kasena Page and PiPi, who were waving their arms in front, telling me to come quickly.

* * *

……Whoooooooo…………

Somewhere in that mountain range, which shone eerily as if a demon had cast a spell, in the depths of space-time where mortal consciousness could not reach and immortal eyes could not see.

As the primordial monster writhed in eternal pain and let out a chilling scream, the terrifying Abyss exploded, and the dimension trembled.

The cause of this endless pain was the seal of the , which bound the limbs of the King.

The form of the seal was generally chain-shaped. The characteristic of the chain was like the sun, emitting such high heat that it could not be looked at directly with mortal eyes, instantly burning everything it touched.

Bound by those thousands of layers of chains, the King had been groaning in constant pain in the forbidden space-time that transcended dimensions.

But even these seals could not be eternal in the face of the immortal authority and absolute Abyss of the Kings.

Little by little, step by step, slowly.

The power of erosion, which had been gnawing at the structure of the chains over a long period of time, broke one of the chains at this very moment, greatly weakening the seal’s texture.

Du……

……Abiras……

…………Graam Shar’kas…….

Through the gap in space-time where the chain was broken, the forgotten King’s decree flowed out and headed to the middle of the mountain range, which was bleakly covered with ancient perpetual snow.

That absolute thought, swirling strangely and staining the clouds with complex radiance, reached a boy who was hanging on the ice wall with his heart pierced by a wedge of light.

As the thought rushed in, the wedge of light was eroded to a dark gray color, and before long, it lost its power and shattered into countless light sources.

「…….」

For a thousand years, this land had been an untouched snowscape where only isolation, desolation, and the silence of annihilation lingered.

However, the moment the boy’s eyes, which had fallen on the snowfield, opened drowsily, the extreme Abyss went berserk, and the screams of all kinds of beasts running away madly shook the mountain range.

Meanwhile, in the boy’s body, something like a spider web was woven blackly, instantly restoring all the tissues and organs around the pierced heart.

「Eurtiema, ron Shar’kas al broos.」

If we interpret the primitive language that the boy bowed to the thought and politely spoke, it is as follows.

King.

Your Shar’kas is here.

If someone who lived in the age of the gods had seen this desperate sight, they would have run away with all their might and screamed like this.

Awakened, awakened.

The Spider’s Baedo Command, Shar’kas…….